Extension-foot.



E. L. OGONNOR.

EXTENSION, FOOT;

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 7, 1910.

1, 1 12,468, Patented Oct. 6, 1914.

II/I1 NORRIS Ib rue: ca. FIIOTU-LIIHO., WASHINGTON, u 1:.

OFFICE.

EDWARD L. OGONNOR, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

EXTENSION-FOOT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 6, 1914..

Application filed. January 7, 1910. Serial No. 586,905.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD L. OCoNNoR, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Extension-Feet, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact de scription.

This invention is in the nature of an extension foot, to be worn by persons having one leg shorter than the other, and its chief object is to provide an improved device of this kind, which can be worn without discomfort and which will effectually conceal the wearers deficiency, enabling an ordinary shoe to be worn and giving both feet the same natural appearance.

A further object is to provide means whereby the extension foot can be adjusted in position so as to suit the carriage of the wearer or modify his carriage as may be clesired.

To these and other ends the invention consists in the novel features of construction and combinations of elements hereinafter described.

The invention is capable of various embodiments, but I have selected for illustration and specific description herein the form which is considered to exhibit the best mode of applying the invention in practice. This form is shown in the annexed drawing, and referring now thereto,

Figure 1 is a side view of the device, with portions broken away, showing certain parts unlaced or disconnected. Fig. 2 is a side view showing the complete device fitted to the foot and leg of the wearer. Fig. 3 is a detail plan view of the adjustable band which encircles the leg at or above the calf.

The device illustrated consists essentially of a foot-piece or body 1, provided with two side members or braces 2, secured to the footpiece adjacent to the heel thereof in any convenient and efiective manner, and suitable means for fastening and adjusting the device to the wearer. The foot-piece is preferably made with a flexible toe portion, as shown, as is common in artificial feet, so as to permit flexing of such portion in walking. At the top the foot-piece is formed with a rest or seat 3 for the heel of the wearer, and below and in front of the same is a rest'or seat 4: for the ball or fore part of the foot. The

forward and rear portions of the foot-piece are covered preferably with smooth leather, as indicated at 5 and 6, to minimize wear on the stocking, while the sides, at 6, are covered with a firm strong fabric such as canvas. On the heel seat or rest is a pad or cushion 3 fastened by its front edge to the front of the foot-piece a little below the heel-seat. The cushion, being thus loosely attached, can be adjusted on the heel-rest to the position most comfortable for the wearer.

The side members or braces 2, made preferably of steel, extend up the leg of the wearer on each side and at the heel-rest 3 are curved rearwardly, with a slight lateral curvature also, if desired. The braces are made in the proper length to suit the indi- 'vidual, and are preferably long enough in any case to reach the upper part of or extend slightly above the calf, as indicated in Fig. 2. i

Secured to or carried by the covering of the foot-piece at the front thereof, at what may be termed the ankle of the foot-piece and in front of the ball of the wearers foot, are two rearwardly extending flaps, one of which is shown at 7, provided at their rear edges with eyelet holes to permit them to be laced together at the back below the heelrest 3. These flaps thus constitute a lower band clasping or encircling the foot below the heel and serving to hold the same in proper position on the foot-piece, while the back-lacing permits a considerable range of adjustment, to accommodate a thick or thin, wide or narrow foot. Under the flaps 7 are two lining-flaps 7?, designed to. cover the spaces at the sides immediately in front of the braces and protect the footfrom contact with the canvas fiaps7. v 1

Immediately above the lower band or flaps 7 is a pair of flaps 8 constituting a front-band adapted to clasp the foot above and below the ankle, as shown in Fig. 2.

rear edge of one flap and a cooperating memsince the farther forward his position is her 12 secured to the other flap and provided with a series of apertures to receive the snap tongue. At the rear below the buckle 1l-12 the flaps are held together by a backstrap 13, passing under the braces through suitable openings in the flies 10, as shown, and fastened by a buckle 14. This strap confines the wearers foot at the back above the heel and can be adjusted to engage the foot as loosely or as snugly as desired. At their top ed es the flaps 8 are each provided with a pair of eyelets, and on the inside of each brace 2 is a short eyeleted or lacing fly 15 to which the flaps are laced, as shown in Fig. :2. This lacing prevents falling or sagging of the front-band without interfering with the adjustments afforded by the side lacings and the back-buckle of the front-band.

Above the front-band, mounted on the side members or braces 2 at the top thereof, are two flapunembers consisting of two wide forward flaps l6 laced at their front edges, and two narrow rear flaps 17 provided with an adjustable buckle or clasp 18, the whole encircling the leg at or above the calf. This adjustable upper band is one of the most important features of the device, since it serves to regulate the carriage or position of the wearer in walking. Thus by letting out the lacing in front the leg will be thrown forward, while a corresponding backward position will result when the lacings are taken up. In this way the wearer can place his weight on; any desired part of the foot,

the more will his weight be thrown on the ball of his foot, and vice versa, so that he is enabled by suitable adjustment to take the most comfortable position in wearing the device.

Attached by one end to one of the flaps 16 is a padded tongue or cushion 19 for the purpose of protecting the wearers shin and avoiding the discomfort which might otherwise be caused by the front lacing or by the pressure of the unyielding band.

After the device has once been fitted to the foot and the various parts properly adjusted the adjustments need not be disturbed, the device being easily removable merely by opening the three buckles at the back. Similarly, it can be replaced simply by slipping the foot into the footpiece and then fastening the buckles mentioned.

Extension devices of this general type are as a rule made to order, and heretofore it has been necessary to have the device conform to tne wearers measurements with the greatest exactness in order to secure a comfortable fit, since even the slightest variation from the correct measurements might render the device so uncomfortable that it could not be worn. In the present invention, however, the adjustments afforded by the various lacings enable the device to be fitted comfortably to the wearer even though the measurements taken are not followed exactlv. In fact the adjustments are sufficient to compensate for considerable variation, though of course the foot-piece should conform to the size of the shoe worn on the other foot and reasonable care should be exercised in proportioning the height of the braces.

As previously stated, the form herein speciiically illustrated and described is merely the preferred embodiment of the invention, which can be embodied in various other forms without departure from its proper spirit and scope.

What I claim is:

1. In a device of the kind described, a foot-piece, side braces extending upwardly from the foot-piece, and a front-band adapted to clasp the ankle of the wearer, said front-band comprising flap-portions adjustably' connected to the side-braces and means for detachably connecting the flap-portions together at the rear. I

2. In a device of the kind described, a foot piece, side braces extending upwardly from the foot-piece, flies carried by the side braces, a front-band adapted to clasp the ankle of the wearer, said front-band comprising rearwardly extending flap-pertions adjustably laced to the said flies and means for detachably connecting the flap portions at the rear.

3. In a device of the kind described a foot-piece, side braces extending upwardly therefrom, a front-band adapted to clasp the ankle of the wearer, and means for adjustably connecting the top edge of the band to tl e side braces.

4. In a device of the kind described, a foot-piece, side braces extending upwardly therefrom, and provided with downwardly extending flies, and a front-band adapted to clasp the ankle of the wearer and laced by its top edge to the flies on the side braces.

5. in a device of the kind described, having a foot-piece provided with a rest for the heel of the wearers foot, a band below the heel-rest comprising flaps connected with the foot-piece at the front and extending rearwardly, said flaps being adjustably connected together at the back, and rearwardly extending lining flaps inside of the first-named flaps.

6. In a device of the kind described, a foot-piece, side braces extending upwardly therefrom, a lower band comprising flaps extending rearwardly from the front and laced together at the back, a front band above the lower band, comprising rearwardly extending flaps adjustably and detachably connected to the side braces and detachably connected together at the rear, an adjustable back-strap connected to the side braces, and an upper band comprising the foot of the wearer and to pass around flap-portions mounted on the side braces, the heel-rest below the top thereof. 10 said flap-portions being adjustably laced In testimony whereof I afiix my siganture together at the front and detachably conin the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

' nected together at the rear. EDWARD L. OCONNO'R.

7. In a device of the class described, a Witnesses: foot piece having an upwardly extending M. LAWSON Damn, heel portion, and a band adapted to clasp BERT. R. SANDMAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

